A Shepard tone, named after psychologist Roger Shepard, is a sound made of a superposition of sine waves separated by octaves. When the tone bass pitch is moved continuously upward or downward, listeners perceive an auditory illusion of a pitch that seems to ascend or descend endlessly, even though the tone as a whole never actually gets any higher or lower.
Facts
Classification
Type of Phenomenon Sources
1. Wikipedia: Shepard tone
Wikimedia Foundationlead section, phenomenon-kind classificationQuote, lead section, phenomenon-kind classification
This creates the auditory illusion of a tone that seems to continually ascend or descend in pitch, yet which ultimately gets no higher or lower.
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